I got another bag of DD's clothes out of our house this weekend. DD has decided she no longer likes princesses (it was short-lived for us anyway) and she still hadn't grown into some really nice clothing gifts (DD is really slender). I felt if she wanted to give them away, then so be it. I did keep the barely worn items separate from all the other stuff she decided she no longer wanted/no longer fit/etc and offered them to our playgroup moms on New Year's Eve (at our annual family party), but had forgotten to bring them. (Usually our playgroup cannot use any of DD's clothing due to the close ages and different body shapes of the girls. They just are not able to be passed around since they are wearing basically the same size, but different cuts/shapes. The boys, however, can and do.) One little girl is the same age and size as DD, but shorter and a tad stockier. According to her mom, she is still loving the princesses and would love these items. Sure enough, we gave them to her yesterday and we got a phone call today, all grins and giggles, and the little girl is still wearing the complete jammies and robe set since yesterday when they got home from the beach (after baths). She won't take it off. LOL I am curious what happens when she digs through the rest of the bag.

I also gave a different playgroup mom a brand new brush (Christmas gift) that neither DD nor I like. IT HURTS!!! She loves it and was very happy to receive a new brush!

Both stories remind me of how nice it is to give things away in the moment versus hanging onto them hoping things will change. This was a win-win for five human beings and so much joy was generated in these simple acts!

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." - Mother Teresa

I got another bag of DD's clothes out of our house this weekend. DD has decided she no longer likes princesses (it was short-lived for us anyway) and she still hadn't grown into some really nice clothing gifts (DD is really slender). I felt if she wanted to give them away, then so be it. I did keep the barely worn items separate from all the other stuff she decided she no longer wanted/no longer fit/etc and offered them to our playgroup moms on New Year's Eve (at our annual family party), but had forgotten to bring them. (Usually our playgroup cannot use any of DD's clothing due to the close ages and different body shapes of the girls. They just are not able to be passed around since they are wearing basically the same size, but different cuts/shapes. The boys, however, can and do.) One little girl is the same age and size as DD, but shorter and a tad stockier. According to her mom, she is still loving the princesses and would love these items. Sure enough, we gave them to her yesterday and we got a phone call today, all grins and giggles, and the little girl is still wearing the complete jammies and robe set since yesterday when they got home from the beach (after baths). She won't take it off. LOL I am curious what happens when she digs through the rest of the bag.

I also gave a different playgroup mom a brand new brush (Christmas gift) that neither DD nor I like. IT HURTS!!! She loves it and was very happy to receive a new brush!

Both stories remind me of how nice it is to give things away in the moment versus hanging onto them hoping things will change. This was a win-win for five human beings and so much joy was generated in these simple acts!

Thanks! Isn't it a great feeling to give something to someone you know will love it so much more than you!

The boys did that with a couple of toys that they hadn't played with in ages right before Christmas. Their cousin had borrowed a couple of the set and was a little bummed that it was time to return them to us. We packed up the rest of the set and took them to him as a little gift. He was ecstatic; he kept saying, "Really? I get to keep them?" over and over again. It was priceless! We packed up 15 costumes today that the boys never really wear and we're going to offer them to my cousin who has 4 boys and a baby on the way. I think we'll probably get a similar reaction from them. Also, one of the boys has been begging his mom to buy him a flute and teach him how to play (she played in school), so since I still have mine from school and have no interest in playing it ever again I'm going to give it to him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrapadoozer

Worked up in our bedroom. Managed to get rid of 28 things. So much more to do though. I am trying to not let it get me down!

234/500

Every single item helps! Try to focus on what you have accomplished, not what is still left to be done.

This morning I focused on the under-the-stairs closet in our downstairs half-bathroom. Since we have very little closet storage space it had become a place to shove things that didn't have a home, plus it was home to the boys' dress-up clothes. I completely emptied it and decided to bring one of the Rubbermaid dressers back in the house to use in there. It fit under the shelf perfectly and it is now home to Marc's tools! I don't know why I didn't think of that solution before. We went through the dress-up stuff and decided to put most of it upstairs, keeping just a small hamper in the closet down here. We also picked out 15 costumes to give away. So....

I'm going to focus on the pantry room next. It's my biggest clutter-catcher, so it should be a challenge. I don't know how much there will be to give away in there, but I hope it's a lot!

ETA~I already have another pile by the door ready to go! Woohoo! The boys go to preschool T, W, Th, so I'm going to drop off a load every day while they are in class. This stuff will all be out of my house by Friday!

Not keeping count here, but Dh took the week off last week and decluttered alot of our basement.... 17 contractor size trash bags of stuff went to the thrift store, 75 videos, 12 dvds, over 200 cds (dh used to be a dj).... then about 15 bags of trash, and about 10 empty boxes. Also a fooseball table, a large video cabinet.... a ride on pony, some bikes... um.... and tons more. carseats, etc. It was a crazy week. and we still aren't done. We cleaned out the closet under the stairs in the family room and that sent another four trash bags to the thrift store. I think our home is finally breathing :0 Oh, and then I cleaned out the sippy cups... ds is too big for them... so thirteen sippy cups went to a friends house. Also, seven huge trash bags of baby girl clothes.... gone!

I finally took pictures of a stack of baby items to list on the new trading post. I am hoping to get that done today. I found 21 items, plus 4 for goodwill. Adding 25 to my total. I'm almost to my goal!

I haven't decluttered anything for the last couple days, but I have been doing some mental work.

I decided, for example, that I can let go of 2 of my 4 potties. I'm a home childcare provider, but I don't do potty boot camp so I've never had more than one potty at a time in use. Enough is sufficient.

Also, big stuffed animals are all going to be gone. I'm only keeping beanie-sized ones.

Oh! I love this idea! I'm in for 2009. I really have this idea of my house being clean and clutter free, it is so not there right now. It would be much easier to keep clean. All the clutter,toys, books, and STUFF everywhere just stresses me out sometimes. I want a lot of it out! I <3 the idea of it improving someone else's life. I am on board and will report back later!

I am also going to stop buying (other than food/necessities like tp) until I have decluttered 1000 things. yikes!

Oh, and I have to share this small moment of triumph! Last night we dropped off two big bags of stuff at Goodwill and I didn't even browse in the store. I don't need to be bringing more in when I just kicked a whole bunch out!

Oh, and I have to share this small moment of triumph! Last night we dropped off two big bags of stuff at Goodwill and I didn't even browse in the store. I don't need to be bringing more in when I just kicked a whole bunch out!

You have more self control than I do to not shop at Goodwill when you drop stuff off! I haven't been able to go because it has been too cold or snowy, but I am itching to.

My sweater shaver broke, so that is 1 thing to throw away. It is not really decluttering though, because I will buy another one. Luckily, I have a JoAnn's gift card from Christmas, so I can get it for free.